Murray Kinsella reports from Edinburgh
DESPITE THREE YEARS having passed, it’s easy to recall the widespread criticism Warren Gatland faced ahead of the third Test of the Lions tour of Australia in 2013.
Gatland himself certainly hasn’t forgotten.
With the series on the line in Sydney, Gatland selected 10 Welshmen and dropped the legendary Brian O’Driscoll. The Lions’ playing style had been criticised throughout the tour, but Gatland remained true to his colours.
A dominant 41-16 victory seemed like justification for Gatland’s decisions, even against a poor Wallabies outfit, but the episode took a toll on the New Zealand native.
Even now, some still hold the O’Driscoll dropping against him.
Beginning life as the Lions head coach all over again ahead of next year’s daunting tour of New Zealand, Gatland feels his 2013 experience will stand to him.
“It was a tough week that last one,” said Gatland in Edinburgh today. “I don’t think there is any pressure on the players. It is tough, but if you fail as a Lion it doesn’t have an impact on your international selection or club team, even if you’ve not been successful or performed.
“You fail as a coach and have a poor tour… look at previous coaches; the impact it has had on them post-Lions tour has not been positive.
“I learnt a lot that last week. The biggest lesson is that you have to be true to yourself.”
Indeed, no one could accuse Gatland of not having stuck to his convictions ahead of that third Test and it is that strength of character that appealed to the Lions in appointing the former All Blacks hooker again for next year.
“When I interviewed in 2013, one of the questions was, ‘What are your ambitions when you head to Australia?’ and I said, ‘Well, I wouldn’t mind being the first Lions coach in five tours that’s in a job within 12 months of the Lions tour’, because all of the others had lost their jobs within 12 months.
“So, it wasn’t the safest environment to be in as a coach, coaching the Lions, because if you lost the series things didn’t look pretty afterwards.
“I knew how tough it was going to be and you’ve got to be successful, because if you’re not then probably a lot of you guys here [the media] turn on you, you know?
“That’s the nature of the beast, isn’t it? I experienced part of that in 2013, but it makes you tougher, it makes you strong. I’m one of those people who doesn’t dwell on the negatives, I always look at the positives.”
With the formal announcement of his appointment for the 2017 tour out of the way, Gatland can now get down to the important business of appointing his assistant coaches, with confirmation of the backroom staff to come on 7 December.
He will also carry out extensive scouting of all eligible players for next summer’s tour, with several Irishmen among the candidates.
While England’s success under Eddie Jones has made their players particularly attractive and Gatland knows the Welsh squad intimately, many Irishmen have a point to prove this season.
Playing the All Blacks twice in November is possibly the best shop window Irish players could have asked for. Gatland appeared to be happy that the Kiwis wouldn’t get extensive exposure to the home nations before next year, but he did indicate that Ireland’s star men have a prime opportunity to impress.
“Only Ireland are playing them, in Chicago and a game in Dublin,” said Gatland. “England, Scotland and Wales don’t get a crack at them. New Zealand will be quite happy with that.
“Maybe that is advantage to us. They’re not having a huge look at us. It’s huge for Irish boys, yes. Two cracks; it’s a good chance for them.”
The tour of New Zealand will see the Lions play 10 games in total, with that workload coming under criticism from a number of sources.
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall labelled the schedule “ludicrous,” with the task made all the more demanding by the All Blacks’ revelation that Test players will be made available to the Super Rugby sides who take on the Lions.
Gatland, however, argued that such demanding preparation for facing the All Blacks will be a positive.
“If I look back on 2009, I think it’s good we’re playing Super Rugby sides,” said Gatland. “We’re playing four Super Rugby sides and the Maoris [and a Provincial XV] before the first Test, with the Hurricanes after the first Test.
“When you look back to South Africa in 2009, the South Africans took a lot of their Test players out [of the warm-up games] and we went into the first Test underdone. We hadn’t played strong enough opposition and the opposition in Australia in 2013 was mixed as well. We racked up some big scores before the Test series.
“So playing these sides, against the hardest opposition in New Zealand, is going to set us up to be in pretty good shape for the Tests. That’s some of the experience you learn from the tours you’ve been on.
“New Zealand have spoken about releasing their All Blacks to play in those Super Rugby games and I think that’s brilliant for us. We want to be playing against the best teams and making sure those games are as hard as they can be, so we’re match-ready and battle-hardened for what’s going to be a tough series.”
The fact that the clash with the Chiefs comes just four days before the opening Test poses a particular challenge for Gatland and the Lions.
The head coach is keen to bring a squad of around 37 players again, but says there may be a need to call in additional players from other tours for that Chiefs clash.
“The hardest game is the Chiefs game before the first Test,” said Gatland. “How do you protect that Test match 23? I know Wales are in the Islands, Scotland are in Australia, England in Argentina and Ireland in Japan – so there is potentially an opportunity to maybe bring in four or five to maybe sit on the bench.
“That is my thought process at the moment. You want to protect that Test 23. It made a massive difference in 2013. We had players on the bench, but not exposing the 15 to having to be involved. That is important.
“We did it a bit in 2013 with Shane Williams. Bring your boots guys; there’s a chance!
“Look, those are thoughts at the moment. You try you protect the starting XV. If you are talking up to 40 players, how many do you have available for the Chiefs game? Those are things I’ve discussed with the board and they’ll fall into place in the next six months.”
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